candlelight service of lessons and carols: Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 Temple Place, Saturday, Dec. 24, 6 p.m. Service will be presented in a family worship format. For more information call the church at (508) 993-6351 or visit trinityfairhaven.org

festival service of word and sacrament: Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 Temple Place, Saturday, Dec. 24, 11 p.m. For more information call the church at (508) 993-6351 or visit trinityfairhaven.org

nativity service of word and sacrament: Trinity Lutheran Church, 16 Temple Place, Sunday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m. For more information call the church at (508) 993-6351 or visit trinityfairhaven.org

marion

christmas eve service of candles and carols: Community Baptist Church, 441 Front St., Saturday, Dec. 24, 6 p.m. This kid-friendly service will include the singing of traditional Christmas carols of the season and sharing of the scriptures that celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.

CHRISTMAS SERVICE: Community Baptist Church, 441 Front St., Sunday, Dec. 25, 10:30 a.m. Come discover the true meaning of Christmas with a warm, friendly congregation. An American Baptist Church, they open their doors to all who seek to learn about the Christian faith. They are a small friendly congregation with a very large faith. For more information, visit www.cbcmarion.org.

Children's Creche: Grace Episcopal Church, County and School streets, Saturday, Dec. 24, 5 p.m. A service of storytelling for young children and toddlers.

christmas contemplative service of lectio divina: First Congregational Church at Lund's Corner, 2195 Acushnet Ave., Sunday, Dec. 25, 9:30 a.m. Join them for a service of carols and Scripture. Sermon: "...And Dwelt Among Us..." by the Rev. Dr. Kenneth P. Beres, senior pastor and preaching minister.

christmas eve Candlelight Service: St. Martin's Church, corner of County and Rivet streets, Saturday, Dec. 24, 7 p.m. Service includes Holy Communion and features choir. Following service, eggnog and cookies will be served. All are welcome. The Rev. Richard Clark is the celebrant. No service on Dec. 25.

christmas eve service: North Baptist Church 750 County St., Saturday, Dec. 24, 5-6 p.m. Come and experience the true wonder and majesty of Christmas by joining them and ushering in the light of Christ in your life. A service of testimony, music and candlelight.

Christmas Eve service of carols and candles: First Congregational Church at Lund's Corner, 2195 Acushnet Ave., Saturday, Dec. 24, 7 p.m. Come and hear their choir sing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Special solo by the Rev. Dr. Ken Beres of "O Holy Night." Sermon: "The Miracle of Christmas."

Christmas Holy Eucharist service: Grace Episcopal Church, County and School streets, Sunday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m. There will be no 8 a.m. service on Christmas Day.

christmas novena: Radio CorMariae (88.5 FM, New Bedford), Saturday, Dec. 17-Saturday, Dec. 24, 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Novena will air to prepare Catholics for the Solemnity of Christmas. For those outside the coverage area, utilize their live stream player at radiocormariae.com. If these times are not convenient, the content can be downloaded for each day of the Novena. At the present there is only the first day to play or download. The other eight days will appear on the same page in the coming days. The common format of each of the nine half-hour programs is: Chaplet of the Holy Infant Jesus, Reading (From the Divine Office; 2nd reading), Invocations to the Child Jesus, Verse of Day, Refrain of "O Come O Come Emmanuel", O Antiphon, Magnificat Sung, and beautiful Advent hymns. For an explanation of the Novena, listen to the three-minute intro clip of the first day of the Novena.

new year's eve community worship service: Seamen's Bethel, 15 Johnny Cake Hill, Saturday, Dec. 31, 5 p.m. Sponsored by the Office of the Mayor and the Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford, the service will include brief messages from the Rev. Deborah Jean of North Baptist Church as well as the Rev. Pajibo Kyne and the Union Baptist Church Choir. Mayor Scott Lang will reflect on the community as he leaves office as well as Mayor-Elect Jon Mitchell, who will express hope for the future. All clergy are invited to come and offer a word of prayer as they move into the New Year with hope and expectation.

special mass: St. Lawrence Martyr Church, 565 County St., Monday, Jan. 2, 11:30 a.m. The Mass is at St. Lawrence, which is the home parish of Mayor-elect Jon Mitchell and his family. All are invited to attend.

christmas service: Westport Point United Methodist Church, 1912 Main Road, Sunday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m. Come in your pajamas and be ready to be filled with Christmas spirit.

SOUTHCOAST

CHRISTMAS MASSES TO BE BROADCAST: WLNE-TV Channel 6, Sunday, Dec. 25, 11 a.m. Bishop George W. Coleman will be principal celebrant and homilist for the one-hour televised liturgy. The Portuguese Channel will air Christmas Mass in Portuguese at 7 p.m. The Rev. John J. Oliveira, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in New Bedford will be the celebrant and homilist.

EVENTS

Attleboro

Bethany Nights with John Polce "A Place to Begin Again"¦": National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette Church, 947 Park St., every last Friday of the month, 7:30 p.m.

christmas festival of lights: National Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette, 947 Park St., throughout Christmas season until Jan. 1. Daily illumination following the 4 p.m. Mass from 5-9 p.m., depicting the new theme "Light of Life." Admission and parking are free, but donations are welcome. Call (508) 222-5410 for more information or go to www.lasalette-shrine.org or www.facebook.com/nationalshrinelasalette.

dartmouth

holidays watch battery fundraiser: Ustinov Jewelers, 17 Faunce Corner Road. Purchase a watch battery, and all the proceeds will be donated to Mobile Loaves and Fishes at St. Paul's United Methodist Church to help in feeding the homeless.

fairhaven

Drumfish Drumming Circle: Unitarian Memorial Church, 102 Green St., second Sunday and fourth Friday of the month, 7 p.m. Not a lesson, not a performance — a rhythm celebration! All are welcome. For more information, contact Diane at the church at (508) 992-7081 or visit www.drumfish.weebly.com.

coffee house: Pilgrim United Church of Christ, corner of Purchase and School streets, every Saturday, 6 p.m. Program includes worship and music. Guest musicians welcome. Contact Rev. Dave at church.

courage meeting: Call the Rev. Richard Wilson at (508) for location at (508) 992-9408, Saturday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m. Courage is a welcoming support group for Catholics wounded by same-sex attraction, who gather to seek God's wisdom, mercy and love. Join them in their search for truth that is in God alone.

music at St. Anthony's: St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Ave., Sunday, March 11, 3 p.m. Gail Archer is an international concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor and lecturer. In spring 2010, she celebrated the 325th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach with six concerts around New York City. A champion of women organists, Archer has researched 19th-century female composers. She is college organist at Vassar College, and director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University where she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus. She also serves as director of the artist and young organ artist recitals at historic Central Synagogue, New York City. As an international concert performer, she excels at matching musical compositions to the recital instrument, and has the skill and expertise to utilize acoustics to the delight of her audiences.

st. martin's food pantry: St. Martin's Episcopal Church, corner of Rivet and County streets, second and last Saturday of the month, 10-11 a.m.; last Tuesday of the month, 5-6 p.m.

scrabble night: Pilgrim Church Home, corner Purchase and School streets, last Friday of the month, 7-9 p.m. Sponsored by Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Scrabble game night also includes Chess, Cribbage and Mah-Jong. All are welcome. Free admission. For more information, call (508) 996-1498.

SOUTHCOAST

seeking hospice volunteers: Overlook Hospice is currently seeking Hospice volunteers in the Southern Bristol County area. If you have a little as 1 hour per week to give, then you can make a difference in someone's life. Fully trained Overlook volunteers may provide compassionate support to patients and their families through visiting, playing cards, writing notes and running errands, or they may also provide clerical assistance to their office staff. For more information, contact Chris Flagg at (508) 434-2200 or cflagg@overlook-vna.org

Space does not permit inclusion of regular church services and activities in the church calendar. This calendar is reserved for special services and programs sponsored by churches and church groups. E-mail calendar events to Linda Andrade Rodrigues at lrodrigues@s-t.com. For a complete list of events, visit www.southcoasttoday.com/religion.

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